Rei has Aspergers / High Functioning Autism / NLD

[Ricky O]

Just THROWING THIS OUT THERE.

Bland affect.

Unable to relate to others.

Difficulty with personal space.

Difficulties understanding non-verbal cues.

Lack of perspective on "the big picture."

Seemingly emotionless, emotions at the wrong times.

Sweet and caring deep down (this one's mine).

Okay, so, DISCUSS.

[SaVaGe]

A lot of that actually sounds like the manga Kaworu to me.

I've never really considered a legitimate reason for Rei deattachment, other than her being a clone/lack of normality. She was raised for all the wrong reasons..but when you lay it out like that it certainly does add up.

[Ricky O]

She's most definitely not normal, and probably could have endured any number of developmental disabilities. I think it makes sense.

I think EVA would be one of the only animes to actually acknowledge Autism and its forms in any way.

[TehDonutKing]

She doesn't have Asperger's. Her autism is far worse/better then that.

[Yue]

I doubt Rei's psychological state could be defined in terms that mostly refer to Lilin illnesses. She's screwed up because Gendo is the closest she had to a father, she only has half a soul, and oh right that soul belongs to a seed of life.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I say the way she acts is really because of the living environment she was raised in(?), as well as whatever Gendo was doing to her according to what's her in bathroom cabinet

[C.A.P.]

Hang on to your hats folks, here we go again.

[Tankred]

Oh boy!

[Stryker]

We actually did have a discussion about this here.

[Vegeta 20XX]

Just THROWING THIS OUT THERE.

Bland affect.

Unable to relate to others.

Difficulty with personal space.

Difficulties understanding non-verbal cues.

Lack of perspective on "the big picture."

Seemingly emotionless, emotions at the wrong times.

This really sounds more like my brother than anyone else (though to be fair, he has textbook Asperger's Syndrome). A lot if (if not all) of Rei's psychological dysfunctions could be environmentally based (as opposed to the more or less hardwired dysfunctions of ASDs, a "nurture dysfunction" as opposed to a "natural" one, if you will), or both could occur simutaneously (i.e., her problems could be hardwired, but the environment she was raised in didn't help at all and/or makes this determination ambiguous and difficult).

[Someone]

Hm, i don't think that Yui had anything like that.

[Monk Ed]

Repopotamus from the other aspie thread (with rewording for certain clarifications):

Rei strikes me as being too "cool" to be one. Fitting a checklist of characteristics is one thing, but there is a qualitative aspect as well. There's a certain way how to be socially awkward that indicates Aspergers. Maybe if Rei told more jokes that only she understands, spoke in non-sequiturs, or had a tendency to babble on about shit she cares about but nobody else in the room does, it'd be a more convincing case.

I think her diagnosis bends closer towards schizoid than Asperger's, if we're hunting for names to apply.

Also:

Hm, i don't think that Yui had anything like that.

Huh, good point. I'm not sure if AS is purely genetic in origin -- if so, it would suggest that Rei would be one only if Yui was too.

[EvaPilot10]

....I'm not sure if AS is purely genetic in origin -- if so, it would suggest that Rei would be one only if Yui was too.

AS does have genetic factors but it's not purely genetic in origin. There are several people who don't have AS but have given birth to children who were diagnosed with AS.

[Someone]

AS does have genetic factors but it's not purely genetic in origin. There are several people who don't have AS but have given birth to children who were diagnosed with AS.

But cloning = exactly the same DNA.

[EvaPilot10]

But cloning = exactly the same DNA.

True. But I know a pair of identical twins -one was diagnosed with AS, the other doesn't appear to exhibit any traits of the condition.

EDIT: Since when did Rei have exactly the same DNA as Yui? I thought part of her DNA came from Lilith?

[Bagheera]

EDIT: Since when did Rei have exactly the same DNA as Yui? I thought part of her DNA came from Lilith?

It does. Also, she doesn't have Asperger's...per our resident shrink (Brikhaus) she has schizoid personality disorder if anything, and even that's sketchy given her circumstances and the fact that she's an anime character (and thus necessarily lacks the depth of a real person, no matter how complex she may be by fictional standards).

Don't forget that she's extremely isolated socially and all of four years old. Comparing her to a normal human is...not appropriate.

[Trajan]

Rei only appears autistic because her thought process and mannerisms are, more or less, those of an alien being. Trying to judge her by the standards of human social interaction is like trying to judge a dolphin by the same standards.

[Monk Ed]

It does.

Debate remains on that. But if AS is not purely genetic then it doesn't matter to this topic anyway.

[Bagheera]

Debate remains on that.

Does it? We know Rei is at least partially Lilith, so I don't see how all of her DNA can meaningfully come from Yui. You could argue there was something other than DNA at work there, I suppose, but that seems rather tortuous to me.

[Cross of Iron]

It does. Also, she doesn't have Asperger's...per our resident shrink (Brikhaus) she has schizoid personality disorder if anything, and even that's sketchy given her circumstances and the fact that she's an anime character (and thus necessarily lacks the depth of a real person, no matter how complex she may be by fictional standards).

Don't forget that she's extremely isolated socially and all of four years old. Comparing her to a normal human is...not appropriate.

Rei is a classic schizoid case. I don't think any character in Eva would have Asperger's, to be honest.